LIB RARY OF CON GRESS. 

©lap-.S'.^^^ngi^t f 0. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



\ 

X 



•X 



THE 



HORSEMAN'S 

POCKET BOOK: 



CONTAINIX(; A 



COtLETE GUIDE TO HORSEMANSHIP 



BY SAMUEL T. GARDNER, 

No. 213 East Eighth Street, WihTih-igton, Dc 



'^ 



'" '• Wisdom is better tha 




(I JAN 1*7 13^4 :/ 

WII.M.NGT0'4D^L.¥0"*-^-<*-'^-^.'^f 

HUBERT A. ROOP, pfelNTfiRi'iASl^ ' 
No. 2 West Third Street. 






Copyrighted December 20th, 1883, 
Bv Samuel T. Gakdner. 

A// rights rcSi'Tved. 



INTR0DUCTI(3N. 



The object of this httle book is, to show just how 
to break any horse by the most humane treatment, 
and make him a most docile and obedient creature. 

It is the best apphcation of wisdom to the subju- 
gation of brute force, and is worth its weight in gold . 

It gives you a superior method for the manage- 
ment of Colts, from their first handling, to perfectly 
safe driving. 

It also gives an infallible method for the curing 
of all wrong habits into which the horse, through 
improper care and management, may have fallen. 

Further — It measurably provides against certain 
constitutional diseases and tendencies. 

Many, if not most of these methods, are entirely 
new, and have originated with the author, who for 
the first time has committed them to the press. 



4 

A horse is by for, the most vaUiable of all ani- 
mals — Man's best servant and Ood's best domes- 
tic gift. 

Man was made to rule, the cattle to be in sub- 
jection. "Behold we put bits in the horse's mouths, 
that they may obey us, and we turn about their 
whole body ^ ^ ^ For every kind of beasts, and 
of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, 
is tamed and hath been tamed of mankind." Jas. 
3- 3-7- 

We do this without any pow-wowing or drugging ; 
it is simply skill in finding out the wants of the 
horse, and in the mechanical appliances by which 
those wants are fullv met. 



f 



GENERAL RULES TO BE OBSERVED. 

FIRST. 

Vou must master yourself, if you would become 
the master of your horse. 

Do not get into a passion. This will frighten 
the animal, and make your task more difiPicult. 
SECOND. 

Speak in a low tone of voice. Disregarding this 
rule, will have the same retarding effect as disre- 
garding the former. You will find, all things else 
being equal, that those teamsters and drivers who 
speak barely loud enough to be heard, have the 
best command of their teams. 

THIRD. 

Have courage to undertake the breaking of your 
own horse, for it is not likely you will find in 
another, all the virtues necessary to the task To 
gain knowledge, is to gain confidence ; so when 
you shall have made the directions of this little 
book yours, you will hardly be doubtful of success. 

FOURTH. 

Persevere in your efforts until you succeed. 
Possibly the horse may hold out longer than you 
at first supposed, though it is likely he will submit, 
sooner than you anticipated ; but go in to conquer, 



and make no calculation as to the time he ma\ 
hold out, and you are sure of success. There mav 
be no apparent improvement up to the moment of 
complete submission. 

FIFTH. 

Remember always, not to trust your horse too 
far. One submission is not a cure. You must not 
trust him until you know that his evil habit is broken 
and destroyed. 

It may show your skill to trust your horse very 
soon, and very far, but it does not exhibit your pru- 
dence. 

SIXTH. 

Be kind to the animal in all your efforts. No 
where is kindness more appreciated and beneficial 
than by the instinctive horse. He delights to obey 
a kind master. 

We seldom use a whip, and it may be our own 
fault that a single recommendation is given in 
these pages for its sharp application, but even then 
it is recommended for but a short time. 

SEVENTH. 

Do not presume that you can break up a bad 
habit in a horse, or even think you can proper!) 
break a colt, until you have read carefully this en- 
tire book, and are prepared to apply its instructions. 
Make it therefore a book of study, and carry it in 
your pocket when there is a possibility for its need. 



SPECIAL RULES P\')R THE UNBROKEN 
COLT. 

Section L — The Colt s/tould not be Frightened. 

It is well, if you raise your own colt, to exercise 
;i vigilance over him, so as to prevent vices which 
are sometimes imparted under unfortunate circum- 
stances to the unbroken colt, and developed more 
fully in his subsequent life. Let no one strike, 
strike at, or throw at your colt, P2 very thing of the 
kind has a tendency to produce wildness, and this 
is a very dangerous characteristic, as it makes him 
more easily frightened, and in case of an accident 
the more likely to do serious damage. 

Sec. \\.— To Bridle the Colt. 

A colt ought to be taught to lead by the halter 
in his first months, so that he may never be com- 
pelled to test his more mature strength. Should 
this be deferred until his powers are fully developed, 
he may use them to your disadvantage, and he 
may know from experience what he should never 
learn. Keep him ignorant of his great strength, 
except when that strength is fully under your con- 
trol. 



If you have accustomed him to the halter, you 
will probably have no trouble in bridling him. 
The stable is the best place to do this. You can 
approach him from either side ; if from the left, 
which seems a little more convenient, take your 
bridle in your left hand, catch him with your right 
hand at the fore-top or mane, as near the fore-top 
as possible, pass the head-stall of the bridle to the 
right hand at the fore-top, and let the sides of the 
head stall be let down on the sides of his face until 
the bit comes over his nose, put your left hand 
under his chin with the tip of your fingers in his 
mouth on the right side, being careful that they 
are back of his nipper teeth, or he may bite you, 
put your thumb of the left hand on the bit and 
gently press it into his mouth, and thus pull the 
head-stall back of his ears and the brow-band in 
front of his ears, and lastly, fasten the throat latch, 
and you have him bridled. The foregoing Section 
is only necessary to those who are unaccustomed 
to bridling a horse. 

Section \\\.— To lead the Colt. 

Your first work is to teach him to lead. Here 
again, you will have no trouble if he has lead well 
by the halter. Should he prove a litde refractory 
and fly back, do not pull him steadily forward, but 
incline him to first one side and then the other, 



and after a little while you will most likely lead 
him as you please. If you wish him to lead along- 
side, or after another horse, or behind a carriage, 
you must either put on him the rope war bridle, 
(described in Section ii), and give him some les- 
sons with it before taking him out, or you must 
take a long line and bring the ends together, take 
the loop end, make a crupper, give it two or three 
twists and put it under his tail, being careful to 
stand on one side, so as to prevent him from kick- 
ing you, then take each of the single ends, and run 
them through his bridle rings, one on each side, 
tie the ends together, and if you are on horse back, 
put this over your horse's neck, and go graduallv 
forward, and the colt must follow you. This line 
we shall often refer to as the crupper line. 

Section IV. — To Subdiie the Colt. 

Perhaps there is no more rapid way of subduing 
a colt than to lay him down. This you can do by 
taking from your carriage harness a backing strap. 
Take up the left foot, place the buckle of your 
strap between the fet-lock and the foot on the out- 
side of the foot, now take one or two wraps, and 
then pass the end of your strap over the leg and 
buckle together so tightly that he cannot get his foot 
down. Now lead him on, and make him hop on 
three feet. It is much better to tire a colt a little 



lO 

in this way than to adopt the old plan of riding or 
driving him down, besides it wonderfully subdues. 
But after exercising him a spell in this way, put a 
rope around the right foot, with the left still 
strapped up, and throw your line over the horse's 
neck, now go on the left side, and take hold of the 
rope and give it a tight draw, at the same time 
urging him forward. In this way you take up the 
other foot. Hold him firmly and he will come on 
his knees, and after making a few more efforts to 
rise, he will rest on his knees and let you put your 
shoulder against his hip and push him over. 
While down, pat him gently and speak kindly to 
him, handle his feet and legs and convince him 
that you do not want to hurt him, but that you are 
only compelling him to obey you. By unloosing 
the strap you can let him get up, and after a little 
while lay him down again. You may continue to 
throw him at intervals, until at your command, he 
will get down for you without strap or rope. 

Section V. — -To take the Fright out of a Colt. 

While down, you can bring anything at which 
lie is easily frightened, let him see it, smell at it, 
and if it be a soft substance, you can touch him 
with it. If a buffalo robe, you can put it on him, 
rub it over him, wrap him in it as far as possible, 
and even throw it in the air and let it fall on him. 



II 



You can bring a wheelbarrow or a push cart right 
up to him, but be careful never to hurt him as you 
are trying to gain his confidence, and you will soon 
succeed by this method. Often repeat these les- 
sons, and they will greatly enhance the value of 
your colt. 

With one foot strapped up, you can handle the 
feet and legs of your colt, though he may have ac- 
quired the vicious habit of kicking at you at every 
opportunity. 

Section VI. — To teach the Colt to stand Hitched, 

Put on him the crupper line as in Section 3, or 
the war bridle, as in Section 11, take a wrap or 
two around a substantial post or tree, and shake 
an umbrella at him, and make him fly back ; after 
trying this once or twice, you will probably be un- 
able to get him to try it again. But if you are 
using the crupper line, be sure to keep from near 
his heels, as he may be so frightened by the crup- 
per as to kick, but not striking anything, it will do 
him no harm. You can, however, prevent the 
kicking by strappijig up one fore foot, and hitching 
him as above. 

Section VII. — To drive the Colt before hooking 
him to the Buggy. 
No colt should be hooked to the buggy imme- 



12 

diately after first putting on the harness. Vou 
must be careful not to expect your colt to get ac- 
customed to too many new things at once, this is 
too much for him to learn in such brief time. To 
wear the harness is enough for one lesson, drive 
him around with it on him, and if he is afraid of it 
strap up the foot and drive him with the lines, 
until he is quiet and willing to go quietls' on his 
three feet ; rattle the harness around him and let it 
fall against his legs, while his foot is up, and also 
if you think he will bear it, with his limbs all in use. 
Do not be in a hurry to hook the colt to the 
buggy until he gets thoroughly familiar with the 
harness. Then you had better use a sulkey. be- 
cause it turns easier and cannot get its wheels 
locked if the colt backs. 

Spxtiox Vni. — To make tJie Colt go or stop. 

If you use a whip be sure to simply touch your 
colt as an intimation of what you wish him to do, 
and he will generally go ahead ; but if he would 
not move for this, I would put on him the war 
l^ridle, described in Section ii.and the foot strap, 
and tug him heavily first on one side and then on 
the other, until he moves at my will to follow me, 
But be sure not to go ahead and pull steadily ; this 
will be almost sure to fail, but drawing him sud- 
denly to one side, he must either come, if his foot 



13 

is up, or fall, rather than fall he will come. Then 
drive him with a chirp and teach him to stop at 
the sound of the word Ho. To teach a horse to 
stop is one of the most important lessons you can 
give him. Should he get frightened in harness, 
you want him to stop at your command, and he 
must do so or do you damage. The War Bridle 
is the best thing to make him stop whenever you 
say ho to him, give him a strong jerk and he will 
soon learn that he must stop at the word ho. Give 
him many lessons of this kind, and you have a 
colt that will stop when you tell him. no matter 
what accident may happen. You have perhaps 
seen otherwise sensible persons whip their horse 
to make him stand ; this is most foolish. 

Section IX. — To harness and hook the Colt to the 
Sulkey. 

See that your harness is so strong that the colt 
cannot break it. Put it on in the usual way, but 
be sure to hook your traces before fastening your 
holdbacks, and further, be sure to put your hold- 
backs beneath your traces. This is very impor- 
tant for two reasons : first, if the traces go through 
the holdbacks, they will be constantly sawing the 
loops ; second, if the horse should rear with the 
trace, either beneath or through the holdbacks, the 
trace would carrv up the breeching and get it 
3 



H 

under the horse's tail, and when he comes down, 
he must either break your harness or your shafts. 

Strap up one fore foot to prevent kicking, this 
will be sufficient, unless the colt has contracted the 
habit of kicking, then you must resort to other 
means mentioned under Section 21. 

Drive slowly, and for some time in a walk, and 
if you venture to trot him a little, stop as soon as 
he gets frightened. You break your colt faster 
with slow driving than with fast driving. If the 
colt tries to run, do not try to hold him by steady 
pulling, but with snatching with one hand at a 
time, and alternately with right and left as rapidly 
as possibly. If you know how to do this, hardly 
any horse can run with you, no matter how hard 
may be his mouth. 

The foregoing are about all the direcdons 
necessary for the unbroken colt. He has not 
yet formed evil habits, and is much easier sub- 
dued than the spoiled horse, which must be con- 
trolled until the wrong habit is destroyed, and he 
must not be considered safe until this is the case. 

It is true, we can ride after him in safety, but 
he must be so hampered that he cannot do mis- 
chief if he would, and it is uncertain when he will 
make the attempt until he is fully cured. 



15 



SPECIAL RULES. IL 



Instructions How to Cure Bad Habits in 
Spoiled Horses. 



Section X. — To cure a Horse of Rearing. 

Should your horse have acquired this ugly habit 
of rearing or standing on his hind feet, there is 
danger of breaking your harness or shafts, and 
frightening your horse by these breaks, and in- 
ducing him to kick or to run off with you. You 
should therefore be very careful to harness and 
hook your horse to the sulky according to the 9th 
Section, for breaking colts. As a preventive, take 
a line, find the middle and place it across the 
horse's back, let the ends drop down his sides ; 
then take each of these ends and run them between 
his fore legs, putting the end on the right side 
through the right bridle-ring, and the one on the 
left side through the left bridle-ring ; now take- 
back the ends of the lines, and you have a Rear- 
ing Shding Martingale ; with this you can draw his 
head as far down toward his breast as you mav 
wish. Do this when he is inclined to rear, and 
ease up when he ceases. 



i6 

S?:cTiox XI. — To cure the Horse of the habit of 
Boltmg or Runiimg off. 

No horse is so dangerous as a runaway. If he 
kicks and breaks your carriage, it is not likely 
that he will hurt you, provided you remain in your 
seat, and it is probable he will soon free himself by 
kicking. But a runaway horse is so frightened 
generally that he will run against a fence, tree, 
house, or anything that stands in his way. You 
can hardly guide him so as to keep him out of the 
ditches, and you are likely at any moment to be 
killed. 

Take a line and tie it either to the right or left 
fore foot, as may be most convenient to use ; run 
the other end through the hame ring alongside 
of your driving rein, and take it back with you in 
the carriage. This is the Safety Foot Rein, with it 
you can at any time put your horse while moving 
on three feet by pulling tightly on this line. In 
addition to this, you may put on the Double War 
Bridle. This is made by making a half knot about 
three feet from the end of a line, put that part 
between the knot and the end around the neck of 
your horse, making another half knot in the end of 
the part going around the neck, open the loop of 
the first half knot and put the second knot through 
it and draw the loop tight, just as you would tie 
vour horse around the neck ; then put the long 



17 

part of the line back toward the horse's shoulders, 
and run your hand through the rope around the 
neck, and catch the double of the long part, and 
pull it through to the horse's mouth, and let that 
loop go in the mouth as a bridle bit ; lastly, tighten 
the long end of the line which runs back through 
that around the neck and you have the Single War 
Bridle, To make the Double War Bridle, you 
have only to add to the single another loop simi- 
lar to the first. To do this, tie the long end of your 
line at the knot around the neck and pass another 
loop to the mouth, being careful that the reins of 
your double bridle shall come on different sides of 
the mouth and neck of your horse. You must keep 
these so tight that the horse cannot spit them out. 
This Double War Bridle is useful also in curing the 
kicking horse. 

Section XII. — To cure the habit of Jiunpmg 
Fences. 

This habit is not so common now as it once was, 
when bad fences made a temptation to the horse to 
try his leaping powers, but still there are a few 
horses that cannot be kept in the pasture. 

Get a small chain from the blacksmith, about 
12 inches long, shorter for very bad horses, longer 
for those not so mischievous ; have him make you 
two triangular links for the ends, go to a harness 



maker and ask him to make you two straps long 
enough to buckle varound the horse's legs just 
above the tet-lock, have a piece of soft leather put 
on the inside of the strap, and after running the 
straps through the triangular rings, sew this soft 
leather over the rings to prevent chafing the legs ; 
buckle around each fore leg just above the fetlock, 
one of these straps, and you have the legs buckled 
together. This is a Chain Hobble ; you can now 
turn out your horse, as he comes down, after get 
ting over the fence, he must balance himself on 
his fore feet to get over his hind feet, to do this, 
the fore feet must be a good distance apart, and 
one in advance of the other. To make your work 
doubly sure you may put on a haltar and tie the 
rein as short as you see fit to the middle of the 
chain, and you may defy any horse thus hampered 
to jump. 

Section XIII. — To cure the habit of being hard 
to catch. 
. Put on your Chain Hobble as in Section 12, and 
you can go up to your horse when you please. 
Now if you will take a little oats or corn, two or 
three times a day, and go into the pasture, feed 
and pet him, he will soon appreciate your kind- 
ness, and will return it in love for you. Then you 
can take off the hobble and catch him without dif- 
ficulty, being careful to conceal your bridle. 



Section XIV. — To aire a horse of breaking his 
bridle. 

A horse that breaks his bridle is apt to do other 
mischief; when he gets loose, he may run off with 
the carriage, and possibly wreck those he meets, or 
overtakes on the road. No horse should be tied 
in the usual way i. e., with a rein running direct 
from the bridle ring to the hitching post. The 
reason why this should not be done, if the horse 
flies back, and your rein is stronger than the head- 
stall of your bridle, he will break the head-stall, 
then off comes the bridle and your horse, if not 
under excellent command, will become frightened 
and rim off, but put it under the chin and through 
the other ring to the post, in this way there is very 
little strain on the head-stall, while the sliding rein 
clamps the chin and makes it more painful for the 
horse to set back, yet this is not cure. If your 
horse is spoiled in this way, you must loose him 
from the carriage, and put on him the crupper line, 
in Section 3, and when he behaves well, you can 
put it on him while to the buggy. Do this until he 
is fully cured. 
Section XV. — To cure the horse of Slow Walking. 

We believe that most horses get into the habit of 
slow walking, because they are permitted to walk 
so little. To improve his walking, you must there- 
fore walk him as much as possible, and urge him 



20 

to his best walking speed. If you persevere, you 
may expect good results, surprising even to your- 
self. 

Section XVI. — To cure a horse of Fast Walking. 

Horses walk too fast only for certain kinds of 
work, as ploughing, for instance. When first ap- 
plied to cure a horse of this habit, we thought there 
was no remedy, but now we think there is. Put 
on him the Chain Hobble, as in Section 12, though 
long enough to enable him to make a moderate 
step, and we think you can make him as slow as 
you wish, but be very quiet with him after you take 
off the hobble, and if he goes too fast again, put it 
on as before. Continue until a cure is effected. 

Section XVII. — To cio'e a horse of Unwillingness 
to Back. 

Put on him the Double War Bridle, as in Section 
II. If you cannot, with heavy tugs, make him 
back, let two try, and if both fail, let the War Bri- 
dle rein be long enough to pass along the sides of 
the obstinate horse, and become traces for another 
horse true to pull, turn their tails toward each other, 
and put your double rein over the true horse's 
breast, and start him forward, while you command 
the other to back, and he will be sure to back this 
time. Practice until you cure him. 



21 



Section* XVIII. — To cute a horse of fear of a 
Buffalo Robe. 

If the horse is not too fearful, you may throw 
him, and use the robe as directed for the colt, in 
Section 5, but occasionally you will find one so 
very much frightened, that it seems a pity to pro- 
ceed in this way. In such a case proceed as fol- 
lows: Hang the robe on the fence, and put on the 
common bridle, and lead the timid horse toward it 
as near as you can, which may not be nearer than 
a hundred feet, turn him toward the right and then 
toward the left, endeavoring each time to get a lit- 
tle nearer, but often he will fly back, and you will 
be further off; but continue your work calmly and 
patiently, and you will make progress, and at 
length you will get near enough to reach out your 
hand and touch the robe, do this and let the horse 
smell the hand ; if you can lift the robe to his nose 
do so. When you get up in this way, lead him off 
and up again, off and up again ; then take your 
robe under your arm and lead your horse, now go 
to the oat bin or the corn crib, and get a little grain. 
Wrap that grain in the robe, carry it to him and 
spread it out for him to eat off the robe. When he 
finishes that, go and get a little more in the same 
way and give him, and if you do this a few times, 
your horse will whicker when he sees the robe 
4 



and follow you around the lot seeing nothing but 
the robe under your arm. You can now gently 
lay him down and wrap him in the robe. Fre- 
quent practice thus will soon entirely cure him. 

The author once owned a horse so much afraid 
of a robe, that on coming near it she would groan 
like a human being, and yet it took less than the 
half of an afternoon to get that animal to follow 
me round the lot with the robe under my arm and 
whickering after it. 

Section XIX. — To cure the horse of Lolling out 
his Tongue. 

Get a twig from a cedar and tie it to the ring of 
the bridle-bit on the side on which the tongue is 
protruded so as to come in contact with the tongue 
every time it passes beyond the mouth. 

Section XX. — To cure a horse of Balking. 

Nothing that a horse does is so aggravating as 
this, but it would be less so if the driver understood 
the reason why the horse balked. Mr Rarey gave 
the author the first light on this subject. He said 
in substance: The horse balks because he docs 
not think he can pull the load. If it be said the 
load is light, he (Rarey) replied, but the horse can- 
not reason and only knows by actual test. This 
lead us to conclude that if we convince him he can 



23 

pull the load, he will pull it every time. Now how 
shall he be taught this ? Not by whirling him as 
some of the best educators in other respects have 
taught, but put on him the harness, also the single 
War Bridle, as in Section 1 1, strap up one fore foot, 
take the end of your line and go on one side and 
tell him to come, applying the line with a heavy 
jerk as you speak, then on the other side in the 
same way, speaking and jerking heavily until he 
comes every time you tell him ; then take off your 
breech strap and run them through the eyes of 
your traces, and tie the straps together and let a 
man take hold of these straps behind the horse, 
and hold back gently at first, while you make him 
come with your line, and as he pulls more willingly, 
increase the holding back, and soon he will carry 
the man. You can, after a little hook on to a log, 
but be sure not to whip him, if he refuses, you 
must help him pull, and apply your line. If you 
touch him at all, it must be on the back part of the 
fore leg with a stiff switch. Keep up these lessons 
until he is true every time, then hook him to a 
light buggy, but do not attempt to ride at first, but 
go ahead with your line, then you may walk by 
his side as he improves, and when he seems all 
right, you can venture to get in as he walks along, 
but should he stop, get out and use your line again. 
Do this every time he balks, and you will per- 



24 

haps see him start as you get out. Continue this 
and you will break the worst balker that can be 
found. Increase very gradually your load, and if 
at any time the horse thinks it too heavy, oblige 
him by taking off. 

If you want to know how to get along by an 
easier process, we will give you that also ; we can 
do it best by giving you a hard case : A mule team 
having a horse in lead, frequently came to town 
with a load of lumber. We had often noticed one 
of the mules balk, and the whip was applied un- 
mercifully ; the other two could scarcely drag the 
balking mule and the empty wagon out of town. 
The last time we ever saw that mule balk, we said 
to the driver, "don't strike him, but let us manage 
him." He readily consented, and the eager crowd 
gathered around to see our failure. We called for 
trace ropes, tied them together making traces for 
the horse in the lead, and long enough to go back 
to the tail of the balking mule, these traces forming 
one continuous line around the mule : we then 
gave a couple of twists at the doubled end and put 
it under the tail of the mule, with the twists of the 
ropes on his back, the traces then parted from the 
back of the mule right and left, and ran through 
his bridle rings and fastened to the traces of the 
leader. Then came the fun. We gave the driver 
the signal to start the team ; the trace ropes through 



25 

the bridle rin<rs kept his head straight, and pre- 
vented him from doubhng in the harness. The 
tongue of the wagon kept him from the mate mule, 
and the crupper hne just described carried him for- 
ward, but he set back with all his might, and his 
feet ploughed the ground for a time, and perhaps 
for a hundred yards, then he gave it up and trotted 
along, and it was said that the old confirmed balk- 
ing mule never balked again 

Section XXI. — To cure a horse of kicking in 
harness. 

You often hear it said, "I don't care what a horse 
does, so he don't kick," but the kicking horse is 
not very objectionable to the skilled breaker ; he 
can certainly manage him so that he cannot kick 
so as to do damage. Did it ever occur to you that 
the horse kicks to defend himself against what he 
supposes is an imposed wrong You should there- 
fore convince him that while you are his master, 
you are also his friend. To do this, lay him down 
again and again, being very careful not to hurt 
him ; let him up and strap up one of his fore legs, 
and put on him an Over Draw Check ; this you 
can buy at any good harness store, but if you want 
one immediately you can make it of small cord — 
double the cord, and make a single knot about i8 
inches from the double, put the double loop in the 



26 

horse's mouth, let the knot come in the middle of 
the face, pass the ends up over the brow band 
and under the head-stall, it is better to have a loop 
on the top of the head-stall, through which to pass 
these ends, carry them back as far as you please. 
You can, if you choose, make another knot just 
the length to go over your water hook, and rein 
his head as high as you wish, by tightening this 
line from behind the horse, you draw it out of the 
water hook and elevate his head as high as you 
wish. In order to kick severely he must tempora- 
rily balance himself, this he cannot do with his 
head thrown up, nor with it drawn in near his 
breast- It may be well for a time to drive him on 
three feet, and when you let down the other foot 
put on the Safety Foot Rein, described in Section 
II. You should have some one to help you with 
these lines, and not trust your horse until he has 
long ceased to show a desire to kick. Should you 
find yourself at any time surprised by a horse at- 
tempting to kick, as quick as thought give him the 
heaviest snatches from right and left reins, alter- 
nating as rapidly as possible, until you make him 
stop. But this is applicable only when you have 
no extra attachments on him. 

It was thought that a discovery to subdue the 
kicker was made by Mr. Rarey, but it has not been 
found to work well. The plan was to tie lines from 



27 

the hind legs of the horse and pass them under a 
girth, and on to the bridle rings, leaving them loose 
enough for the horse to travel, but, when he at- 
tempted to kick, the force of the kick would be 
felt in his mouth, but the lines to the legs dispose 
him to continue to kick, because he seems to strike 
something every time, and as he draws in his feet, 
he feels the lines so that horses have kicked them- 
selves down and have continued to kick after 
they have fallen. We have no confidence in this 
plan, though it at first looked plausible. 

Section XXII. — lo cure a horse of Restlessness 
ivhile Shoeing. 

You can strap up the fore feet, one at a tunc, 
and shoe them, but when you shoe the hind feet 
they are not so easily managed. Put a strong rope 
around the horse's neck just where the collar fits ; 
then take another line and tie one end around the 
hind foot, and pass the other end under the line at 
the shoulder, and draw up the foot as you wish, 
and you will compel him to stand. Never suffer 
the Smith to strike your horse, halloo at him, and 
frighten him. Rough smiths often make rough 
horses. We have often thought that horses ought 
to be laid down to shoe, and it would, we think, if 
it were practiced, greatly lessen the labor of shoeing. 
It would, no doubt, be very awkward to the smith 



at first, but we are sure that restless horses could 
be shod much more satisfactorily while down. 

Section XXlU.— To aire the horse of Lying 
Down in harness. 

We were very much perplexed at the first case 
we had of this kind. We had found nothing in 
the instruction books to relieve the case. We 
could not think of applying mechanical force to 
hft him up, ; he was a kicker and one of the most 
confirmed in his habits, and when he found it im- 
possible to kick he tried running, but that was no 
more a success than the first ; he then tried balk- 
ing, but found he had to go if on his feet, so he re- 
sorted to lying down, but a thought soon occurred 
to us to make his situation on the ground more un- 
pleasant than when on his feet, so after loosing 
his manacles we sprang to his nostrils, and with 
both hands we held his breath ; in a few moments 
he was on his feet ; he did not try this more than 
once or twice more before he gave it up, and we 
drove him the balance of the forenoon. 

Section XXIV. — To Cure a horse of Shying. 

The horse is a very timid animal, and thus to 
cure his timidity we must inspire him wirh confi- 
dence, and as he only knows by actual test whether 
a thing is hurtful or not, it is cruel to whip him for 



29 

shying, besides, the whip makes him doubly fearful, 
first, of the frightful object ; second, of his master, 
whom he should always look to with confidence. 

Let him stop, and calmly look at the frightful 
object, then drive him up as far as he may be wil- 
ling to go, until satisfied that it will not hurt him, 
then you can pass on. This will give you a -little 
trouble, but you escape danger to which you would 
expose yourself by the opposite course. 

If whipped, he is inclined to turn back and run 
from the frightful object, so in his sudden wheel, 
he is likely to turn you over or break your carriage. 

If the horse is afraid of some stationary object, 
or some moving object, as the cars, you can put on 
him a Single War Bridle and lead him up near 
them ; do this as frequendy as possible, and you 
will soon cure him. The War Bridle is described 
in Section 1 1. 

We believe the foregoing methods are all infal- 
lible in curing, if steadily persevered in. The fol- 
lowing will help and prevent for a time, but as they 
are not regarded as habits, we would not promise 
infallible cures. 



30 
SPECIAL RULES. IIL 



Spxtion XXV. — To p7^cveiit a horse froin Crib- 
bing for a time. 
We have been disposed to regard cribbing as a 
disease, and have made but few experiments, as 
our object is to cure bad habits, not diseases. If 
our theory be true, the horse needs medicine 
more than he needs manacles, but a disease may 
create a habit, and it is possible this is the case 
here ; so if the disease can be cured, we shall be 
hopeful of curing the habit. To prevent the habit 
we would put him in a large stall, and so haltered 
as to be unable to reach any rest for his teeth. I 
would plant a post, and on the top 1 would 
put a round feed box of very large size, and 
give him his food all in this box ; around this box, 
and especially on the top edge, I would put sheep 
skin saturated with coal oil. Out of this stall, I 
would never hitch him to a post or tree, where he 
could touch anything, but use a chain anchor. If 
it be merely a habit, you will certainly cure him. 

Section XXVI. — To prevent a horse from Inter- 
fering. 
A horse interferes generally because of his im- 
perfect formation, consequently, unless we could 



31 

physically readjust him, we cannot hope for a per- 
manent cure, but we can sometimes help when we 
cannot cure, so in this case. 

Those that interfere with their hind feet, do so 
because their feet stand off too much like the legs 
of a stool, It is right for the feet to stand out con- 
siderable, but too far is objectionable. To help 
such a horse you must have the inside of his shoes 
made two, or even three times the thickness of the 
outside edge. Pare off the outer edge of the hoof 
as close as may be proper, and take no more from 
the inside than may be necessary to fit the shoe. 
These will set the leg nearer plumb. Before 
clinching the nails, take a rod of iron sharpened to 
a point, and burn just a little crevice, into which 
you close down the point of the nail, and smooth 
off even with the hoof. A horse thus shod will 
probably not interfere, but if his interfering be 
caused by his feet standing too much in, (though I 
have never seen such a horse), then I would re- 
verse the shoes, and also the paring. 

Let us here venture a remark on shoeing. Let 
the shoes be as open as possible at the heel, and 
after they are on, the smith should take a very 
strong pair of tongs and put them in the heels and 
open them, and when he has finished the closing 
down of the nails, he should not file the outer 
covering of the hoof, as this we think, makes the 
hoof tender. 



In punching the shoe, it should all be done from 
the grove side, then the nail will go in as a wedge, 
and the traveling of the horse will not drive it 
further up and loosen it, which would he the case 
if punched from the other side. 

Section XXVII. — To make a horse show Spirit. 

Laziness may be part constitutional and part 
habitual, as we have said in Rule 6, of the Gene- 
ral Rules, that it may be our fault that a single 
recommendation is given for the sharp use of the 
whip, laziness appearing to us to require it, but in 
a little different style. Do not use it in the ordi- 
nary way, the horse has become accustomed to 
that, but use it very sharply on the arm of the fore 
leg, and accompany it with a short chirp at the 
same time ; Draw up your reins, and if he slack 
down, give him two or three lashes, even sharper 
than before, always accompanying the stroke with 
the sharp chirp. After a little the chirp alone will 
do, and do not use the whip until necessary, and 
be sure you drive in this way but a short distance, 
then drive slowly for a time, so as not to make the 
traveling more severe to your horse than that to 
which he has been accustomed. We have taken 
a lazy horse, and by this method, given her so 
much spirit that we have not afterward touched 
her with a whip for four years. 



33 



Section XXVIII. — To aire a horse of the Thrush. 

We do not profess, as already intimated, to be a 
horse doctor, but having had some experience with 
diseased horses of our own, and having often been 
asked what we would do in certain cases, we have 
always been free to give such advice as we were 
sure would benefit, so that what is recommended 
here can be relied on as good. First, have your 
stall thoroughly cleaned, fihh is probably the cause 
of the disease ; second, cleanse the inside of the 
foot, and pare off those portions which have lost 
their vitality ; now take pine tar and fill the cavity 
nearly even with the hoof, cover the tar with a 
thin batting of raw cotton, cut a piece of stiff 
leather the shape of the hoof, and let the smith 
nail the shoe on over the leather, which is in- 
tended to keep in the batting and the tar,. When 
you wish to change the tar you can take it out at 
the heel with a hook made of stout wire, and you 
can fill up again by pouring warm tar in at the 
heel and plugging up with cotton. After the foot 
is cured, you will find the heel more contracted 
than is natural, now have the shoe made very nar- 
row at the toe, and after it is nailed on, have the 
smith open it with the points of strong pincers. 
Section XXIX. — To cure a horse of inflamma- 
Hon of the eye. 

The best horse we ever owned, was at the time 



34 

of our first handling, pronounced an incurable 
balker. We traded for her believing she would 
lose one of her eyes ; that eye was not con- 
stantly inflamed, but at times looked almost as 
well as the sound eye, and after a period longer or 
shorter of relief, the inflanation would begin, and 
increase until the cornea would become milky 
white ; and the sight be entirely gone, and again it 
would improve and appear as if almost sound. 
We tried such remedies as we could find in farrier's 
books and receipt books, and such as friends would 
advise, without any apparent benefit. At last a 
gentleman said to us, "my father had a horse af- 
fected just as yours, and an old clock cleaner 
came along and said to father, if you will get a 
piece of green muslin and doubb several times 
and put it securely over that horse's eye, and keep 
it there for weeks, it -will get well, for all the diffi- 
culty is caused by too much light penetrating the 
eye, and you must exclude it and soften it as far 
as possible." "Father," continued he, "put on the 
bandage of green muslin and cured the horse." 
We immediately obtained the muslin, put on the 
halter, ran a strip of leather from the top of the 
head down to the nose piece, running down in the 
middle of the forehead, and we tacked the muslin 
firmly on, so as to completely cover that inflamed 
eye, and she wore it day and night for two months, 



35 

as I suppose, and I never had any more trouble 
with that eye. 

Section XXX. — To ct^re a horse of the Gravel. 
Take the roots of the Queen of the Meadow, and 
make a tea, and drench your horse several times, 
once a day, until you believe him cured. It will 
probably take but a few drenches to accomplish 
your purpose. 'I'his is also excellent for human 
beings. Perhaps we can describe this plant so 
that you can find it. In grows spontaneously in 
low meadows, on the edge of ditches, is very 
stately in appearance, growing about 2 or 2yi feet 
high; its branches in fall, are a little inclined 
toward a reddish hue, its seed pods are very much 
Hke allspice, with four stripes running from the 
stem to the top of the seed pod. Its roots are 
formed in clusters around the stem and shaped 
like sweet potatoes, /. e., swelling in the middle 
and tapering at both ends, and the tea tastes very 
much as old hay smells 

CONCLUSION. 

Reader, if you have the inclination and perse- 
verance, you can, by your skill, after mastering 
these pages, make more than a hundred times the 
cost of this book. You say how? If you hear of 
an unmanageable horse, you can go and buy him 
at say half price, and in a few months at farthest 



36 

you can dispose of him as perfectly gentle, and 
doubling your money. Or you can trade an in- 
ferior for a superior horse in every respect, except 
his bad habits. These you can cure in a very 
short time. We have made $8o.od in a single 
trade of this kind, and perfectly satisfied the other 
party. If you get ^25.00 boot, and a horse worth 
$25.00 more than the one you part with, and you 
break this unruly horse in a day, you have clearly 
made $50.00 by the day's work. 

Again, suppose you have a colt or a spoiled 
horse to break, you would perhaps give $50.00 to 
have him under complete control. Now suppose 
you should work five days to bring this result, 
which is certainly a long time, you have made 
$10.00 a day. Not so bad for good healthy exer- 
cise. 

Yet again, your knowledge, though you may 
never attempt to break a horse, may save your 
limbs or your life, and those of your family. More 
than once when we thought we were riding after 
safe horses, have we saved ourselves and others 
from being mangled or killed with scarcely a mo- 
ment's warning. 

Adieu, good readers, may you be prosperous 
and happy. 



IIVDBX 



PA GK 

General Rules 5 

Special Rules. I. The Unbroken Colt 7 

Seel. The Colt not to be Frightened 7 

2. To Bridle the Colt 7 

3. To Lead the Colt 8 

4. To Subdue the Colt 9 

5 To take Fright out of the Colt 10 

(). To teach the Colt to Stand Elitched 11 

7. To Drive the Colt before Hooking hira to the Buggy 11 

8. To Make the Colt Go or Stop 12 

9. To Harness and Hook the Colt to the Sulkey 13 

Special Rules. IT. For Spoiled Horses 15 

Sec. 10. To Cure a Horse of Rearing 15 

11. To Cure a Horse of the Habit of Bolting or Run- 

ning off" IG 

12. To Cure a Horse of the Habit of Jumping the 

Fence 17 

13 To Cure a Horse of being Hard to Catch lis 

14. To Cure a Horse of Breaking his Bridle 19 

15. To Cure a Horse of Slow Walking 19 

16. To Cure a Horse of Fast Walking 20 

17. To Cure a Horse of Unwillingness to Back 2(( 

is. To Cure a Horse of Fear of a Buffalo Robe 21 

19. To Cure a Horse of Lolling out liis Tongue 22 



I'AGK 

20. To Cure a Horse of Balking 22 

21. To Cure a Horse of Kicking in Harness 25 

22. To Cure a Horse of Restlessness while Shoeing.. . 27 

23. To Cure a Horse of Lying Down in Harness 2S 

24. To Cure a Horse of Shying 28 

Special Rules. Ill .30 

Sec. 25. To Prevent a Horse from Cribbing 30 

26. To Prevent a Horse from Interfering 30 

27. To Make a Horse show Spirit 32 

28. To Cure a Horse of the Thrush 33 

29. To Cure a Horse of Inflammation of the Eye 33 

30. To Cure a Horse of Gravel 35 

Conclusion 35 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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002 863 089 A 



